Czech Foreign Ministry condemns Russia’s actions in Crimea

The Czech Foreign Ministry has condemned Russia’s steps towards
annexation of Crimea. In a statement released on Wednesday, the ministry
said Russia’s approach was an unprecedented breach of international law,
and a threat to peaceful coexistence of nations in Europe. The ministry
noted that due to its own history of the 1930s, the Czech Republic was very
sensitive to Russia’s actions, and would never consent to undermining
Ukraine’s territorial integrity and annexation of Crimea.

The Czech Republic has a reserved stance towards the EU’s possible
blanket economic sanctions against Russia over its actions in Crimea, Prime
Minister Bohuslav Sobotka told the European Affairs Committee of the Czech
lower house. Mr Sobotka also said he did not expect an agreement on
sanctions to be reached at an EU summit to be held in Brussels on Thursday
or Friday. The Czech prime minister reiterated that his country would not
impose any sanctions of its own as they could undermine trade with Russia
and hurt the Czech economy.

Lower house speaker: Government ready to address situation of Ukraine’s
Czech community

The Czech government is ready to address the situation of Ukraine’s Czech
community, speaker of the lower house Jan Hamáček of the coalition Social
Democrats told reporters on Wednesday. Speaking after a meeting with the
head of a Czech association in the Zhytomyr region in western Ukraine, Mr
Hamáček said the situation was complex and required swift action.
Representatives of the Czech community in Ukraine, whose origins go back to
the 1860s, have approached Czech authorities requesting assistance with
their relocation to the Czech Republic. Earlier this week, the Czech
Foreign Ministry said expats could apply for fast-track residency permits;
however, Mr Hamáček suggested the government should also provide
financial help.

Finance Ministry plans third VAT rate in 2015

The Finance Ministry is planning to introduce a third rate of value added
tax in 2015, Finance Minister Andrej Babiš said. The rate, whose level has
not yet been determined, should be lower than the existing rates of 21 and
15 percent, respectively, and should apply to drugs, books, and baby food.
The Finance Ministry also wants to make tax collection more effective by
establishing a central registry of bank accounts and retail receipts.
Details of the Finance Ministry’s plans are yet to be debated within the
coalition parties; for its part, the opposition said they would increase
the overall tax burden and would make tax evasion easier.

South Moravia region to make Amazon new offer after Brno rejects
distribution centre plans

The South Moravian region will make a new offer to the US-based online
retailer Amazon, the region’s governor, Michal Hašek told a news
conference in Brno on Wednesday. The announcement comes a day after
Brno’s municipal assembly rejected Amazon’s plan to build a
distribution centre outside the city. Mr Hašek, of the Social Democrats,
did not mention a specific location but said if accepted by the retailer,
the project would be approved by regional authorities. The state
CzechInvest agency also said it would offer the company alternative
locations. Amazon’s planned 2.7 billion crown investment in Brno was
rejected over problems with altering the city’s zoning plans. A similar
distribution centre for Amazon will be built outside Prague.

Coalition ANO party emerges in lead in new voter support survey

The coalition ANO party emerged in lead in a new survey of voter
preferences by the CVVM agency released on Wednesday. The party, headed by
Finance Minister Andrej Babis, would receive 28 percent of the vote. The
Social Democrats would come second with 24 percent, followed by the
Communists with 14 percent. The TOP 09, the Civic Democrats, the Christian
Democrats and Dawn parties would also won seats in the lower house,
according to the poll. In October's general election, the Social
Democrats came first followed by ANO and the Communists.

Bulgaria moves to revoke Czech power distributors’ licences

The authorities in Bulgaria on Wednesday started a process to revoke
operating licences of three foreign power distributors including the Czech
firms ČEZ and Energo Pro. The move by the Bulgarian energy regulator comes
after the companies, along with Austria’s EVN, failed to settle an
alleged debt of over 226 million US dollars to the state power produced
NEK, a debt contested by the firms. The regulator gave the foreign-owned
distributors two weeks to submit comments on the decision before it
addresses the issue again on April 7, the news agency ČTK reported quoting
Bulgaria’s news site sofiaglobe.com.

Coalition parties at loggerheads over healthcare funding

The two main parties in the coalition government are at loggerheads on
where to find funding to stabilise the country’s health service. Finance
Minister Andrej Babiš, who heads ANO, is opposed to the Social
Democrats’ plan to raise money for healthcare by increasing the state
health insurer’s fees. Mr. Babiš insists the funding can be found if the
Ministry of Health makes economies in other areas. Health Minister
Svatopluk Němeček wants to free up CZK 2 billion for hospitals, partly to
compensate for a drop in their income linked to the abolition of fees for
hospital stays. The cabinet is due to discuss the issue at one of its next
meetings.

Czech president backs Slovak presidential candidate Fico

Czech president backs Slovak presidential candidate Fico

Czech President Miloš Zeman has backed Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico
in his bid to become the country’s president. Mr Zeman told reporters
that for him as a left-wing politician, it was natural to express support
for a left-leaning candidate. However, the president said he was in no way
interfering with Slovakia’s affairs. Mr Fico came first in a first round
of voting for the new Slovak head of state last weekend; he faces
businessman Andrej Kiska in the run-off to take place on March 29.

Memorial service for late actor Otakar Brousek staged at Prague theatre

Memorial service for late actor Otakar Brousek staged at Prague theatre

Hundreds of people came to pay their last respects to the late actor
Otakar Brousek at Prague’s Na Vinohradech Theatre on Wednesday. Otakar
Brousek passed away last week at the age of 89. He appeared in nearly 140
roles on stage of the theatre he joined in 1959; he also collaborated with
Czech Radio for nearly 70 years. He last appeared on stage last May as Rand
in the play Being There.

Clean sheet for Čech in 100th Champions League game helps Chelsea advance

Czech goalkeeper Petr Čech made his 100th appearance in soccer’s
Champions League with Chelsea on Tuesday night. The 31-year-old kept a
clean sheet as the Londoners beat Turkish club Galatasaray 2:0 for a 3:1
aggregate victory in the round of 16 tie. Čech’s penalty saves in a
shootout at the end of the 2012 Champions League final helped Chelsea lift
the club football’s most prestigious trophy for the first time ever.